When the first
Catholic parish was established in Mobile in 1703, the year following the
founding of the city itself, perhaps few could have envisioned the impact the Catholic
Church would have on the education and formation of this area's youth in the
centuries to follow. Over 300 years and
thousands upon thousands of graduates later, it has become customary to
celebrate Catholic Schools Week each January.
With 11 Catholic elementary schools (PreK through 8th grade) operating
in the Mobile-Baldwin area, and a high school experiencing a boom in
enrollment, there is much to celebrate about our youth.

Research has
shown that Catholic schools are consistently known for four areas of strength: high academic quality, safety and structure,
a depth and variety of extracurricular offerings, and underpinning it all, the
development of character through faith formation and moral teaching.

When he was only 18 years old, Martin Luther
King Jr. wrote, "The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think
intensively and to think critically. But
education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to
society. The most dangerous criminal may
be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals. ... We must remember that intelligence
is not enough. Intelligence plus character -- that is the goal of true
education."

With that in mind, the benefits of a
Catholic school education can be particularly appreciated. Our
mission is the education of the whole individual: academically, spiritually,
physically and socially.

The theme of
this year's week of celebration, January 27 – February 2, is Catholic Schools Raise the Standards. We invite you to contact any of our 12 area
schools for a schedule of events in observance of Catholic Schools Week, and we
thank you for the opportunity to partner with you in the formation of your
children, and of our future leaders.

Jean Dempsey is the
Director of Development for Catholic Schools, Archdiocese of Mobile. She can be reached at jdempsey@mobilearchdiocese.org. For links to each of the
Catholic Schools in the Mobile-Baldwin area, visit www.mobilearchdiocese.org and click on the Department of Education.